Diana G. Gallagher's Doomsday Deck features several elements that also cropped up Prime Evil, in her earlier contribution to the younger readers' range - and, indeed, half of the books in the series.

This time around the new arrival in Sunnydale is Justine Camille, who is in town because of the Sunnydale Sidewalk Art Festival that Joyce just happens to be organising and being what is technically known as a hottie it doesn't take a genius (or someone who's read the back cover blurb) to guess that Xander Harris would be interested from the outset.

What follows is pretty much the standard formula for one of Pocket Books' novels aimed at the younger end of the material - new bad guy/girl ensnares one or more of the Scoobies, there's a bit of research from Giles and then Buffy has to save the day.

And as usual, there's the usual sense that the whole thing's vaguely pointless due to the obvious non-canonical (and, to be honest, even non-apocryphal) nature of the novels.  As in Prime Evil, Anya is lusting after Xander, but there's no real sense in continuity, which is slightly annoying.

Now that the Angel novels have found their feet, perhaps the younger Buffy novels are starting to become a little surplus to requirements.  In fact, if Tarot cards hadn't already been featured in Pocket Books' Charmed range, that side of Doomsday Deck wouldn't have been out of place in an adventure for the Halliwells.

Although easy to read, Doomsday Deck is hardly rivetting stuff.  Don't expect too much and you'll have a diverting way to spend an hour or two, but that's about all.

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